Ya Gotta Have Faith
by Maddie
Summary: Maggie had seen the devastated look on Daryl's face. It was not difficult to understand why. Miraculously, they were all together again. All except one. Post season five premiere. BETHYL


As the night fell the members of the group had all fallen into what Maggie used to call the sleep of the dead, back when that term had a different meaning, exhausted physically and spent emotionally. But she lay awake staring into the darkness, listening to the rustle of leaves in the wind, the hoot of an owl, the skittering of nocturnal creatures still determined to create normalcy in their chaotic world. Glenn snored softly at her side. Maggie relished his closeness and for the thousandth time since she had found him, thanked whatever gods might exist that they were both alive and together. But she was not the only one who could not sleep. Carefully she untangled herself from Glenn's protective embrace, trying not to disturb his sleep. He shifted and his eyes opened the barest slits.

"Something wrong," he muttered in a semi-stupor.

"Need to pee," she said.

"I'll keep watch," he said lifting himself up onto one elbow.

"No," she said, firmly pushing him back to the ground. "Sleep. I'll be okay. I'll be back in a second."

She waited until Glenn had settled and was once again deeply asleep, then rose and walked to the outer edges of their camp. She could not help but smile at the lumps and bundles of people soundly sleeping. Rick and Michonne forming a defensive circle around Carl and Judith even in their sleep. Abraham and Rosita almost doing the same to Eugene. She approached the silent figure barely discernable at the edge of camp. A shadow blending into the trunk of the tree he leaned motionlessly against. Had she not seen him walk in this direction earlier in the evening, Maggie doubted she would have noticed him. She intentionally made small noises to alert him to her presence.

"Daryl," she whispered.

The figure did not move. She knew he was aware of her, but chose not to acknowledge her. Respecting his desire not to speak, she stopped, then turned and rested against the same tree close to but not quite touching shoulders with him. They remained in that position as the night sounds enveloped them and for few moments Maggie imagined life had never become such hell. The evening air still held a sharp chill and she shivered slightly now that she was away from Glenn's comforting warmth.

She did not know how to break the brooding silence. At the cabin, after the excitement of Rick's reunion with Judith had ebbed, she had seen the devastated look on Daryl's face. It was not difficult to understand why. Miraculously, they were all together again. All except one. Maggie had seen Daryl staring at the cabin, expectant, hopeful, waiting for one more person to emerge. She recognized the look on his face because she had the same expectations and hopes. And in the wake of expectation came a crushing sense of loss. Never had she felt her sister's absence more keenly than in those moments.

"We're going to find her," she said softly, breaking the silence.

Daryl shifted slightly and finally responded. "She had hope."

He paused and Maggie waited. He would speak in his own time.

"I told her she wasn't never gonna see none of these people again."

Maggie heard his sharp intake of breath, half a sob, and turned to face him in the darkness.

"I told her you was dead," he confessed, "And she told me that was bullshit."

Daryl hung his head and the sound of his ragged breathing tore at Maggie's aching heart.

"It's not fair." His voice was barely audible.

Maggie couldn't speak for the lump in her own throat, so she rested her hand on his arm, hoping he would continue.

"She's not here to tell me 'told you so'. She's the one who believed, and I was the stupid fucker who tried to crush her hope." Daryl leaned further forward, bent double as though the pain were too much to bear and Maggie could no longer contain her own tears. She dropped to her knees as a sob slipped out of her. Her hands moved to either side of Daryl's face so she could look him in the eyes, and she thought her heart would break at what she saw there. Daryl slowly sank to the ground, settling across from her on the damp forest floor. Wordless.

"I wanted to see her come out too. Behind Tyreese," she said tears streaming down her face. "I wanted that so bad. Not just for me. But for you. And Beth."

Daryl stared at her the agony of separation so evident on his face. But there were no more words.

"She's alive." Maggie repeated his words back at him. "We both gotta have faith."

"You Greene girls put a lot of stock in faith."

"Sometimes that's all that's left. That and hope. You're gonna find her. We're gonna be together again. All of us." Maggie reached out, wrapping her arms around him, pulling him into her embrace. She felt his shoulders tremble with silent sobs. Her own tears coursed down her cheeks. But she felt stronger. Invincible. She did have faith that they, that Daryl, would find Beth and they would be a family again.

Together they sat in the darkness and the chill night air, her arms wrapped around him surrounded by the peace that only nature and faith could provide. And she found comfort and hope.


End file.
